Double Helix
by anicelittlecigarette
Summary: Cophine AU: "To love another is something like a prayer and can't be planned, you just fall into it's arms because your belief undoes your disbelief.."
1. Chapter 1

_"To love another is something like a prayer and can't be planned, you just fall into it's arms because your belief undoes your disbelief" _

She loved the mornings. Those two seconds just after she had woken with bleary eyes and a mind void of all thoughts. Brief, unadulterated, blissful blankness. It wasn't long before it all came flooding back, only a second longer, in fact. Her throat itched, and before her vision had even focused Delphine was leaning out of the window, puffing on the cancer stick. The scalding smoke bit back at the crisp morning air. It was a routine so deeply ingrained in her it was second nature; there was no fumbling with the flame of lighters, only swift sparks and hot poison vapours. She looked down at the cigarette and laughed. How sick, she thought, to find piece of mind by burning out her insides.

A few minutes later, with a small collection of ash a few feet below, Delphine was back inside. The house was silent, her parents already having left for the lab. However accustomed she was to the solitude, it never sat well with Delphine. A ghost in her own home. She threw on some clothes without really looking at them, she knew it didn't matter anyway. She knew because of the way she could feel wandering eyes graze over her figure wherever she went. With a slight shudder she ran a hand through her thick curls, grabbed her textbooks and headed for the door.

The brief walk to school was enough thinking time to require more nicotine to clog her thoughts. Once she reached the gates she ground what was left of the cigarette into the earth, curled the corners of her lips up and made for her first class with a sigh.  
_Smiles seldom come sincere these days_, she thought.

It was a little miracle, really, to have her favourite class first thing. Her scientific curiosity prodding her awake each Monday morning. She found sense in biology. Beauty, rhythm, structure. And a sweeping satisfaction that the colour of her hair was no indication of how much she knew. As she took her usual seat she could feel something was different. The atmosphere was busier than normal. She looked up to see what had incited this energy into her peers and noticed a figure at the front of the room, chatting to the professor. All white teeth and a flurry of paralinguistics the young woman caused the air to stick in Delphine's throat.

"Okay class settle down" the professor half-yelled. "As you can see we have a new addition to our class, this is-"

"Cosima, hi" stated the woman, accompanied by an awkward wave and the jangle of bracelets.

"-Miss Niehaus." He continued, as the allusive new scientist wrinkled her nose at the formality.

"From now on she will be assisting me in this class so if you ever need help-"

"Don't be shy!" Cosima beamed, oblivious to the disgruntled look the professor held, having been interrupted, again.

Delphine realised she was on the edge of her seat. Shaking herself she tried focus on the subject of the lesson, but found herself enraptured by the nods and smiles so frequently shared by Miss Niehaus. When she stumbled out of the class at the end of the hour, Delphine realised the actions of the woman she'd found so distracting before had burned themselves into the back of her mind. Dazed and disorientated she blundered on through the rest of the day. And by the time she'd returned to the house, as empty as when she'd left it, she was craving to complete the day's routine that had already been so shaken up by one person. Leaning out the window again, her lips curled up the way the exhaled smoke did. But it was different this time, the smile reached her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

The cravings shook Delphine from her comatose state. Her tobacco fuelled body-clock was more reliable than any alarm. The tedious morning routine took over, as if her mind and body were disconnected until fused together by the nicotine that laced its way through her system. Heading for the shower she tried not to think, imagining the same smoke that had just rolled off her tongue was clouding her thoughts. The truth was nothing polluted her neural pathways the way she wished it could. There was no biology class today. That simple fact bothered her more than usual. Grabbing a towel she walked back to her room, the steam from the hot water still swirling in her wake. Delphine yawned, before stifling it with a frown. _If only it were just tiredness,_ she thought, _if only it was then I'd know tomorrow would be better._

Clothes, hair, makeup, books, coffee, door. Delphine moved methodically, as though conducting a lab practical that she'd trialled a hundred times before. The monotony killed her but she clung to it, she needed the structure. The focus. She reached the school without once thinking of the commute and made for her first class. Turning a corner, she was met with a brief gasp closely followed by multiple thuds as the contents of her arms dropped to floor. Her scattered thoughts condensed as she realised she'd collided with the new TA. Apologies rained down faster than the way the books had fallen to her feet.

"I'm so sorry dude, I mean um" The brunette stumbled over her words and knelt down to start to retrieve the fallen volumes. Delphine followed suit and hastily reclaimed her books and papers.

"Non. It was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going" The words spilled from her lips and the embarrassed blonde straightened up to find herself several inches taller than the apologetic figure.

"Wow, french." The murmur came so low Delphine thought she must have misheard.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, I mean, sorry for crashing into you, totes uncool." The brunettes hands stopped wildly gesticulating and one held itself out to Delphine.

Cosima," she breathed. Delphine clumsily shook the outstretched palm, trying not lose grip of her work again.

"Delphine," she replied, already feeling the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"You were in Prof. Leekie's bio class yesterday right?" Cosima inquired.

"Oui, I mean, yes." Delphine corrected herself quickly, not wanting to 'mishear' any more comments on the subject of her native tongue.

"Oh cool well I guess I'll see you again tomorrow, I noticed you looked interested yesterday. And sorry, again, about that" she gestured to the books Delphine was clutching to her chest.

And like that she was gone. In a flurry of dreadlocks and too many bracelets, Delphine was alone once more. She realised how firmly she was gripping the books, like a barrier stopping her heart from beating its way out of her ribs. Tripping over her feet she half-ran to her first class, cheeks aflame she took her seat and bent her head down, furiously scribbling notes for the next hour.

* * *

_What the hell happened back there Niehaus?_ Her internal monologue was raging and Cosima felt her legs carry her straight to the nearest bathroom. Once inside the otherwise empty space she grabbed a bottle of water from her bag and sipped slowly as she tried to regain her breath. In the back of her mind she replayed the scene. The brief moment of impact before looking up at the lovely blonde, features twisted slightly with discomposure. Cosima rubbed her eyes under her glasses, momentarily forgetting that they were bordered with thick black lines. _Shit._ Reaching for her eyeliner she stepped out of the stall and fixed the smudges. With a deep breath she hurried off to class, already late. _Shit, shit, shit._

"Sorry" She exclaimed as she practically fell through the door. Professor Leekie shot her a disapproving look and the students sniggered.

"As I was saying, today we'll be talking about the ethics of genetic modification and-" Cosima barely registered what he was saying despite it all being perfectly audible. For the next hour she tried to concentrate on explaining the topic to any struggling students but it was easily understood and she soon found her thoughts wandering back to beautiful blonde's accent that still rang in her ears.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Delphine allowed herself to think. She took note of what she wore, pulling the clothes from her closet instead of picking them off the floor. She thought about the order in which her subjects were allotted throughout the day. Her pace was hastier than usual, as if she was hoping that if she sped up, time would too. As the last puffs of smoke rolled off Delphine's tongue, she lingered at the school gates. Her alacrity was counterproductive and now she had time to spare.

* * *

Cosima was late. Her brain was still clouded from the copious amount of pot fumes she'd inspired the previous night, anything to the relieve the anxiety induced from her clumsy encounter with the beautiful young french student. _No, Cos._ She told herself angrily; _she's a student you can't think like that you can't_. It was pure insanity, really, to expect her attraction for elegant blonde to dissipate at will. Chewing on her lip and with a small wrinkle ingraining itself onto her brow she hurried up to the building.

Suddenly someone fell into step beside her;  
"Bon matin, Ms. Niehaus" Cosima's head whipped round, more abruptly than she would have liked.

"Wha- oh, hi Delphine." She offered up her best smile, feigning calm. "Can I like, help you, or something?" Assisting students in a classroom was no challenge for the flustered brunette, but this was foreign territory, literally.

Delphine returned the smile as genuinely as she could find it within herself to: "Well I'm planning to take biology at university, mais, I'm still unsure about what I'd like to specialise in and I wondered if you could maybe talk me through some of the different options.."

"Totally, I mean sure I guess um" Cosima scrabbled around the insides of her head, trying to string together a coherent sentence. "I don't have an office or anything but I'm sure there's nothing wrong with talking it over a coffee in the cafeteria at lunch?"

"Okay, I'll see you then." This time it was Cosima left standing alone, watching the tall blonde sweep away and off inside the building.  
_Nothing wrong? Of course there's nothing wrong about discussing uni courses with a student, way to go making it awkward as hell._  
Cosima shook her head, she'd have to regret her statements later, she had a class to TA.

Following her class, Cosima made for the cafeteria. Walking through the doors she looked around and caught sight of of Delphine, the unmistakable golden curls were like nothing she'd seen before. So why was she alone? Tucked away in the corner in the most solitary spot at an otherwise empty table, staring passively into her drink. The surrounding students were all laughing, talking, being stereotypically raucous. But Delphine just looked, empty. It stung to look at and Cosima walked over as quickly as she could.  
Delphine looked up and a smile burst across her face.

"Bonjour Cos- Miss Niehaus."

"Ugh please call me Cosima." Wincing at the prim denomination, she continued. "I can't be that much older than you right? Sorry I just don't like being so impersonal, you know? Like geez I'm a person not a title.."

"Je suis désolé, I did not mean to-"

"No no don't be it's totally fine. Wow sorry to go off on one, guess I'm not used to the etiquette of the workplace huh?"

Delphine laughed at the impassioned nature of scientist, earning smile in return. Pulling a chair out and placing herself opposite the blonde, Cosima stared at her inquisitively.

"So, uni right?" Trying not to get distracted by the lovely french smile.

"Oui, I am thinking of studying immunology. Host parasite relationships fascinate me." She didn't mean to reveal so much but it was a topic she loved, and the brunette awoke something within her, Delphine felt like she could talk with this woman for the rest of time.

"Oh cool, yeah it's really important work I studied evo devo." She saw confusion flash across Delphine's face and elaborated. "Evolutionary Development." Seeing that she'd been understood, she continued. "But I thought you were unsure? You seem kinda decided." She smirked slightly, not meaning to be accusatory in any way. Had the girl just wanted an excuse to talk to her?

_Merde. Elle sait_. Observing Cosima's self-satisfied smile she floundered for what to say.  
"Oui, mais, I thought maybe talking to someone who had been recently, they would have better insight, non?" Her hazey fluency exacerbated by the anxiety rising in her chest.  
Cosima laughed, and Delphine breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey don't look so worried, I'm just happy to find someone that takes as much of an interest as I do. I'll answer anything, I'm always here if you need help." The TA instantly realised she'd said too much, again. But there was such immense gratitude in the blondes eyes that she couldn't find it within herself to regret it. Glancing at her watch she realised the next class was about to start.  
"Looks like we better go, wanna walk to class with me?" Cosima didn't care how she sounded this time, she could walk to class with a student if she wanted to, a student that was becoming a fast favourite.

* * *

The dynamic between the pair had reorientated, slightly. The nervous knot that previously sat in Delphine's throat had loosened, and Cosima's usually unshaken confidence returned as if it had never been unhinged. When Delphine answered correctly, looking up shyly from under long eyelashes, she was rewarded with Cosima's smug, impish grin. Cosima thought - screw that she_ knew_ - it should have felt wrong, but their mutual magnetism couldn't have felt more right.

* * *

**A/N: I'm aware that "bon matin" isn't a typical french greeting but it is used in french-speaking Québec so..**


	4. Chapter 4

The next few days seemed to whirlwind by, wild and fast leaving Delphine in a daze. The looks they shared in class, they infused her with life. Everything felt better when she had Cosima's infectious smile to lighten up her dark days. Occasionally, the blondes stolen glances caught an odd look on her teachers usually sunny face. A conflicted expression, something like doubt, fear maybe. It cause a guilty shudder to rack her body, but only for a second until the brunettes grin lit up the room again.

* * *

It happened on a Tuesday. It was the day that biology was absent from her schedule, and it left her feeling more apathetic than usual.  
The boy was tall; not bad looking but he had a reputation for charming unsuspecting girls before tossing them away like a used paper cup. Delphine knew him by sight, she'd often felt his lecherous gaze as it flitted across her torso, down her long legs; and today he was leaning next to her locker. Catching his eye, he responded with a grin that was almost disturbingly ravenous before his focus raked up and down her body. Sucking a deep breath down into her lungs she made for her locker and tried to ignore the libertine waiting for her.

"Suup blondie" the words made her skin crawl, and she replied with a curt nod.

"Hey don't spare me that pretty accent of yours" Delphine spun round, incensed flames burning away behind her eyes.

"Can I help you?" her furious utterance was accompanied with a tight-lipped smile, and it was blatantly clear to anyone with any understanding of physiognomy that she had no intention of helping him at all.

"Woah don't be like that, I just thought you might enjoy the pleasure of letting me take you out to dinner" he winked, and Delphine was mystified to how this boy was a known head-turner, all he was turning now was her stomach. Grabbing her books and slamming the metal door shut she tried to remain polite, but her voice was dripping with disgust.

"Non. Merci, I have a lot of assignments and I do not have the time." He stepped closer, his presence was horribly invasive and he reached out to play with the end of one of her soft gold curls. His tone changed, to something he probably assumed was sultry and endearing.

"You know not many girls get an offer from a guy like me." That was it, there was another person on Delphine's mind who was making her more than immune to this jerks embarrassing attempts at enticing her, and all of a sudden there was a sharp crack and her palm was stinging.

"You little bitch!" Frozen to the spot she looked down at her shaking hand as if she couldn't comprehend the sudden defensive outburst.

"The hell did you just say to her?" His head whipped round and looking past his shoulder Delphine saw Cosima, seething with rage the heat practically crashing off her body in waves. It was amazing that such a small woman could hold such passion within her as she marched up to the boy and narrowed her exotically lined eyes at him.  
"If I ever catch you talking to girls in this school like that again so help me" her eyes flicked to his now reddening cheek, and she spat out her acidic words "I hope that stung." Whipping past she grabbed Delphine's wrist and dragged her down the hall to the smallest, and currently empty, lab.

* * *

As soon as the door shut behind them her tone softened considerably, and she shot a concerned look at Delphine.

"Are you okay?" Delphine's hands were still shaking, her bottom lip trembled and the saltwater was brimming in her eyes, threatening to spill over any second.

"I-I have never.." She trailed off and pressed a slender hand to her mouth, trying to stifle heavy, tremulous breaths.

"Hey dude don't worry that creep deserved the full force of that slap, and some." Realising her jocular manner wasn't helping, Cosima used the grip she'd retained on Delphine's wrist to lead them to two of the chairs so they could sit, the french girls knees trembled so much that Cosima was worried if they carried on standing she would crumble completely. She let go and her fingertips lingered on the blonde's pale knuckles for a moment, deliberating her next words, she knew a simple "it's okay" wasn't going to cut it, and being overly sympathetic wouldn't help either.

"You're worth far more than he could ever give you." Delphine looked up, and for a moment Cosima was breathless, lost in the the depths of her sparkling doe-eyed gaze. Noticing how close they'd gotten she let her hand drop from where it rested on her student's. _Student Cos, student. Student student student you have a duty of care you can't think these things_. Yes, a duty of care, and how she longed to care for Delphine. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked into her lap where her hands were twisted together, wringing themselves out in a desperate attempt to not reach out for the blonde again.

_You're worth far more than he could ever give you._ The words spun in her head, running, twisting, warping as she tried to make sense of them. Was she worth more? Was she worth anything at all? She was never taken seriously that's for sure, all her elegant french graces were assumed to be more falsification than politeness. Her dainty frame objectified to the point where it was a wonder it didn't snap under the pressure of the lascivious stares she received everyday. She was at the top of the class in all her subjects, but the way her hair fell like spun gold seemed to disregard any intellectual potential she held.

All too soon Cosima's hand had left hers; the brief contact calm and cooling, soothing her frayed nerves. After a few more minutes of silence as Delphine tried to regain some of her composure, Cosima questioned her softly. Taking her time, not wanting to rush the girl.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Biting down on her trembling lip, she nodded and offered a weak smile. She didn't dare speak, the risk of her voice cracking only to be followed an unpredictable reaction from her tear-ducts was not one she was willing to take, she refused to let herself become so vulnerable.  
Cosima exhaled slowly, and her thoughts became almost audible as she pushed the voice of reason to the back of her head and propositioned Delphine.

"So if you want dinner but less of the creeps, we could totally go somewhere. You know discuss uni more and stuff, I get it if you don't want to like that's cool it wouldn't be weird or anything just.." She trailed off and frowned at herself for her incessant rambling, condensing her thoughts she tried again.  
"If you need a friend, I'm here."

Delphine was shocked, of course she was, but in the best way.  
"Yes, thank you. That would..that would be lovely."

Cosima replied with a relieved grin that caused her heart to flutter. "Awesome. Well like I can text you or whatever if you want?" Quickly, almost too quickly, Delphine grabbed her phone and offered it out to her. Thumbs flew across the small screen and a second later it was back in her hand.  
Cosima stood up and smoothed her skirt "Well I better go, see you later, and don't hesitate to slap anymore sleazebags if they require it."  
Giggling at the brunettes choice of words, Delphine averted her gaze down to the screen that was still lit up, and as it faded to black she could make out small fingerprints. She heard the door click shut and smiled to herself, _it's a date_.


	5. Chapter 5

As Delphine got back to her classes she thought the day would never end, each second dragged by and she had to keep stopping herself from looking at the clock and tormenting herself further. Eventually she got home and collapsed back on her bed, only moving when she felt a buzz against her hip. With a start she made a grab for her phone, which of course proceeded to jump out her hands and onto the floor where the back came off the and battery promptly fell out. _Typical_, she thought. As the screen began to light up, resetting at an infuriatingly slow pace, she prayed the text would be Cosima, not the usual messages from the phone company.

She was right, and on seeing the familiar name she felt nerves beginning to steal round the edge of her composure. _Italian okay? Nothing fancy, 9:15? As long as your comfortable with it, C._ That was it, save the address underneath, she knew the street but not the restaurant; with a sly, knowing smile she tapped out her reply: _On se verra là-bas, D._

She had an hour left before she had to leave, her parents weren't back yet and said they probably wouldn't be until much later. Standing in front of her closet she had no idea what to wear, not wanting to be too dressy or too casual. In the end she settled for a short-sleeved sheer white shirt that hinted at the black bra underneath, and black skinnies. After putting her hair up in an elegantly messy updo, Delphine gave herself a once over in the mirror, grabbed a small bag and left. The walk wasn't far, and the busy rush of traffic was diminishing as she walked, arriving exactly on time. Cosima was nowhere to be seen. After five minutes the wait was causing the apprehension to build up again, so rummaging in her purse for the small packet, she lit a cigarette in the hope that the smoke would drive it away. Another ten minutes later and on her second cigarette she heard a voice behind her.

"That stuff will kill ya" She turned to find the petite brunette hurrying up to her, and Delphine couldn't help but smile. She shrugged and ground what was left of the cigarette into pavement

"Maybe I want it to, do you smoke?"

"Nope, well not that anyway, I'm from San Fran so, just pot for me; don't let on though I don't think the rest of the faculty would take well to a stoner." The blonde admired her honesty and leant forward before letting out a bold whisper

"I can keep a secret."

Cosima laughed and the tip of her tongue poked out between her teeth.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I mean I'm kind of always late so, kind of always sorry."

"C'est pas de problème." She replied automatically, each word ringing with the smile that currently aligned her delicate features.

_God, her accent is so._. Cosima was enraptured by the blondes words, soft and lyrical. She knew it was wrong to be thinking about her so much, but she couldn't help how incredible the girl was, in every sense; and admiration wasn't a sin, was it?

Delphine cleared her throat delicately, pulling Cosima from her musings, and gestured to the door.

"Should we..?"

"Oh god, yeah totally. Sorry, must've zoned out for a second there." _Yeah, not like you were thinking about how her voice is like music or how she manages to move with some kind of angelic grace, all the time. Jesus Cos, get it together._

Pushing open the door she held it open for Delphine, who reached up herself just as Cosima pulled away, a whisper of air caught between their fingertips. Flashing a smile at the waiter, he gestured for the brunette to pick their own table; she'd been there often enough to know most of the small team of staff on a first name basis by now. She loved it here, small, independent, and serving the best garlic bread she'd ever tasted. Half-melted candles jammed into empty wine bottles filling the small space with a lambent glow, just enough tables squeezed into the few metres to allow a cosy intimate setting without feeling constricted or invasive.

She picked the same table she always did, in the farthest corner where shadows clung to the walls despite the innumerable candles littering every surface.

Once they were seated the waiter came over with a pitcher of water and a huge glass of breadsticks, setting them down before directing a heavy stream of water into the two glasses before them, minuscule droplets jumping onto the table before leaving them alone as swiftly as he'd arrived.

Delphine was struck by a sudden tension, her previously nicotine-crushed nerves scraping at her thoughts. She sipped at her water as Cosima began absent-mindedly chewing on a breadstick, looking at her inquisitively.

"So, immunology huh? Cool, what drew you to it may I ask?"

Delphine looked up shyly, trying not to sound to timid in her response.

"My parents are scientists, I suppose it just passed on to me. That is why we moved here from France, they were offered jobs at a big corporation, long hours, lots of opportunities, that sort of thing." She wished she had a more interesting story, but really her parents passion just intrigued her until she was old enough to understand for herself and discover she held the same love and aptitude for the subject.

"Et toi? Evo..devo?" Cosima smiled, flashing a perfect set of pearly whites.

"Massive Darwin nerd, first time I read The Origin Of Species I was just like, woah, you know? Totally hooked on evolution ever since." As her impassioned hands flew to emphasise her point, Delphine caught sight of the perfectly inked fossil on Cosima's smooth, tan wrist; and noticing the intrigue, she offered up the section of skin for a better look.

"Yep, total nerd. Literally ingrained in me."

"C'est beau." She breathed the words, she couldn't help herself. Her own tone of voice burned her ears and the embarrassment coloured her cheeks a delicate shade of pink.

Cosima grinned, unphased. "Thanks man, I love it, my parents totally flipped out, though."

Delphine furrowed her brow at the choice of words she was still becoming accustomed to,

"Flipped..out?"

"Oh like, freaked, totally angry at first. They're cool with it now they, they've had to become pretty accepting I guess.." She trailed off, looking a little lost in her thoughts for a few seconds before the silence was broken by Delphine's hasty apologies

"I'm sorry, my English it.." _Gets worse when I'm nervous. No Delphine don't say that for gods sake._ "Colloquialisms are not my strong point, tu sais?"

_Oh god that's just adorable, she's totally endearing._ "Hey no don't worry about you're perfect."

It took Delphine's almost startled look for Cosima to realise what she'd said and hurriedly correct herself.

"I mean, your English, totally perfect. I mean pretty much spot on, I, yeah." She chuckled nervously and the waiter came over right on cue.

Cosima rolled her eyes as Delphine picked a salad before ordering her favourite pizza.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Cosima keeping her hands and mouth occupied with a couple more breadsticks as Delphine worried the hem of the tablecloth between slender fingers. Occasionally she started to bring her hand up, as if to run it through her hair and disperse some of the anxiety that seemed intent on smothering her sense of clarity, before pausing as she remembered it was pinned up, and brushing imaginary strands of hair away from her face and behind her ear.  
_Nervous habit,_ Cosima thought.

The otherwise almost empty restaurant meant their food arrived in the space of ten minutes, Cosima eagerly pulling at the pizza as Delphine tipped the small pot of dressing over her salad.  
_Does she do everything quite so gracefully?_ Cosima smiled to herself, and realised how consistently she was forgetting that Delphine was a student. On the one hand it was good, reducing the tension, it was fine to be friends with seniors, right? On the other it worried her, but her enervation was being constantly, involuntarily pushed to the back of her mind by her increasing interest to know more and more about the girl.

Their stemmed conversation slowly began again, before it was flowing easily, and Cosima found herself rambling about university between doughy bites of cheese and tomato sauce.

"Oh god I'm barely letting you get a breath in, feel free to shut me up."

"Non, it's fine. I'm interested, je promets."

Delphine noticed a glow in her teachers expression, and told herself it was just reflections of all the candles which were almost the only source of light in the intimate restaurant.

It wasn't until long after their plates had been cleared and all of a sudden Delphine's knee accidentally grazed her own underneath the table that Cosima was hit by the reality of the situation.

_Shit. What the hell are you doing you've basically taken her out to dinner. This isn't a student teacher set-up discussing essays outside of school this is getting to know each other in your favourite restaurant what the hell Cos, what the hell. _

The worried brunette glanced at her watch,

"Shit, Delphine. It's getting late and I have a load of lesson plans I need to finish."

The crestfallen expression that tainted the girls lovely features sent a shooting pain to Cosima's chest, but she shook her head and ignored it as best she could.

Delphine forced a smile. "It's fine." _Lie._ "I should probably get home as well, my parents may be wondering where I am." _Lie._ "They should be home by now." Lie after lie, her parents wouldn't be home for at least an hour yet. She reached for her purse but Cosima had already thrown notes down on the table.

"Don't worry about it, they know me here I always get a discount. See you at school, yeah?"

In a few strides she had crossed the space and breezed out of the door, and a confused Delphine was left blinking apathetically at the scene in front of her; the only proof that Cosima had really been there being the rapidly dissipating heady aroma of her perfume that trailed in the air behind her, and the lip prints around the rim of her water glass.


End file.
